Buzz Lightyear is one of the most loved animated characters of all time and fans loved seeing the bond evolve between him and Woody, Andy’s most cherished toy. While Tim Allen was the voice of the character for a long, long time, Chris Evans took over the responsibility of Buzz for the 2022 film, Lightyear.
Even though Chris Evans, who is one of the best actors of today, was linked to the project, Lightyear didn’t really make it at the box office. On top of that, fans weren’t too thrilled about Chris Evans replacing Tim Allen for the film despite the actor’s popularity. And now, we realize just how much of an issue the film proved to be for Disney, owing to the loss of a hefty amount.
How Much Did Chris Evans’ Lightyear Cost Disney?
According to a report shared by Deadline, Chris Evans’ Lightyear was made with a total cause of $373 million. The film grossed $226.4 million at the worldwide box office, which is just a tad bit more than the total production cost of $200 million. It has been revealed that Disney lost a total of $106 million after the release of the Toy Story spin-off. It looks like not even Captain America could have saved the film!
Even on Rotten Tomatoes, Lightyear failed to live up to the rest of the Toy Story films, each of which has a rating above 90%. While the first two installments of the franchise have the rare 100% to their name, Lightyear only managed to bag 75%.
While some fans felt an origin story was not necessary, others didn’t like the fact that Evans was replacing Tim Allen. As for why the replacement happened, director Angus MacLane stated that they wanted to differentiate between the two versions. He continued that while Allen’s Buzz was “a little goofier, a little dumber” and the “comic relief” he wanted to make his Buzz the “action hero.”
Even though Evans might be an obvious choice when it comes to playing heroes, it looks like the replacement didn’t really work out for the film.
Chris Evans Talks about the Backlash
Lightyear faced a ban in fourteen countries including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates because the film showed a homosexual couple and Evans has something to say about it. Talking to Reuters Television, the Gifted actor called the haters “idiots.” He continued,
“Every time there’s been social advancement as we wake up, the American story, the human story is one of constant social awakening and growth and that’s what makes us good. There’s always going to be people who are afraid and unaware and trying to hold on to what was before. But those people die off like dinosaurs.”
Evans added that the best thing to do would be to not pay them any sort of attention and keep moving forward and embracing growth as that is what being a human is all about.
You can stream Lightyear on Disney+.
Source: Deadline
